It’s been a long winter in Upstate New York, and I’m not seeing any green yet on the ground as I look out the window at my snow-covered yard. At the same time, I’m starting to see plenty of signs that we’re absolutely in the early springtime of 802.11ax. Even though the new standard won’t be ratified for months there is still a lot happening regarding .11ax if you know where to look.

We also see signs of 802.11ax taking root on other fronts. Consider the following image:

This is a screenshot from Wi-Fi Explorer Pro and shows a couple of important things. First, this very popular WLAN support tool is ready for 802.11ax. And… some of us are already beta-testing early .11ax products. Early .11ax is out there, and skilled professionals are getting their feet wet with it from packet capture and analysis to configuration options.

You don’t have to look far to find podcasts that pull back the curtains on the murkier parts of 802.11ax, discussing how blistering speeds and huge client capacities are actually accomplished. My friends at Clear-to-Send have a few .11ax podcasts in the can, including their latest on BSS coloring. I also recommend listening to Cisco and the Wireless LAN Professionals’ as both talk about 802.11ax. As those of us in the field gain more hands-on experience with .11ax, look for even better information to be made available.

Though it goes without saying, the WLAN industry’s marketing machines are already running full-tilt when it comes to 802.11ax. They certainly need to sell product, and we’ll certainly be buying it, but at the same time this is a case where being educated on the customer side of the equation helps. We’re already being peppered with variations on any and all of these, depending on the campaign:

-Your current network won’t be able to support new 802.11ax clients

-Your current switches won’t be able to support new 802.11ax access points

-Once 802.11ax is ratified, you damn well better upgrade to it or any number of terrible fates await you

-A bazillion IoT devices are waiting to overwhelm you

-When 802.11ax hits, suddenly all of your client devices will a have newfound bloodthirst for video that you can only sate by spending enormous amounts of money on new 802.11ax gear

And on and on the hype train will go. By getting well in-tune with the realities of 802.11ax ahead of time, we’ll all be better for it when the standard actually goes mainstream over the next year. Wireless professionals absolutely have to pay attention to all of the early information popping up related to .11ax- our careers depend on it. And my recommendation for non-techies: for every minute of time you devote to consuming PR material from vendors on 802.11ax, make sure you put equal time into asking those who do wireless for a living “Is that true? Can I believe this prediction regarding .11ax?” Your wallet will ultimately be better off if you do, as there is already a fair amount of fast-and-loose being played with the truth.

Even though the season of 802.11ax isn’t really here yet, it’s shadow is very much creeping its way across the network landscape. Pay attention, and be prepared by getting educated because the new standard will be upon us before we know it.